Crow
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1967) as South 40 - Kink Middlemist -- organ - Harry Nehls -- drums, percussion - Dave Wagner (aka Dave Waggoner) -- lead vocals - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
line up 2 (1967-69) as Crow - Kink Middlemist -- organ - Harry Nehls -- drums, percussion - Dave Wagner (aka Dave Waggoner) -- lead vocals - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
line up 3 (1969-71) NEW - Denny Crasswell -- drums, percussion (replaced Harry Hehls) - Kink Middlemist -- organ NEW - Mike Mlazgar -- drums, percussion (replaced Harry Nehls) - Dave Wagner (aka Dave Waggoner) -- lead vocals - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
line up 4 (1969-71) NEW - Denny Crasswell -- drums, percussion (replaced Mike Mlazgar) - Kink Middlemist -- organ - Dave Wagner (aka Dave Waggoner) -- lead vocals - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
line up 5 (1971-72) - Denny Crasswell -- drums, percussion NEW - Gwen Matthews -- vocals - Kink Middlemist -- organ NEW - Debbie Oldenwald -- vocals NEW - Chico Perez -- percussion NEW - Mike Stanhope -- vocals (replaced Dick Wagner) - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
line up 6 (1980-82) - Robby Belleville -- drums, percussion - Denny Johnson -- bass - John Richardson -- vocals, guitar - David Wagner -- vocals
line up 6 (current) NEW - Jeff Christensen -- vocals, guiatr - Kink Middlemist -- organ NEW - Norm Steffan -- drums, percussion - Dick Wiegand -- lead guitar - Larry Wiegand -- bass
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- Blackwood Apology (Dennis Craswell) - Button (Chico Perez) - Cain (Mike Mlazgar) - The Castaways (Dennis Craswell) - The Jokers Wild - The Rave-Ons (Harry Nehls, Dick Wiegand, and Larry Wiegand) - South 40 (Kink Middlemist, Harry Nehls, Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand, and Larry Wiegand) - T.C. Atlantic (Harry Nehls) - Dick Wagner (solo efforts) - White Lightening (Mike Stanhope)
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Crow Music Company: Amaret Catalog: ST5002 Year: 1969 Country/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+ Comments: minor ring and edge wear Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4890 Price: $20.00
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To my ears Minneapolis, Minnesota's Crow embodies the concept of mid-western rock. There's nothing subtle or complex about the band's catalog. Watcha see is watcha get; in this case straight ahead, smash mouth rock and roll.
Crow traces its roots back to the Minneapolis' South 40, which in turn evolved out of a pair of local bands; Jokers Wild and The Rave-Ons. South 40 featured the core of what was to become Crow - drummer Harry Nehls, keyboardist Dave "Kink" Middlemist, guitarist Dick Wiegand, bassist Larry Wiegand (bass), and singer Dave Wagner. A true bar band, the group's blend of popular R&B and rock covers and originals generated a local following and one album on the local Metrobeat label - 1967's "South 40 Live At Someplace Else!" (Metrobeat catalog number MBS-1000).
South 40's big break came when they entered and won a 1968 'battle of the bands' contest sponsored by The National Ballroom Operators Association. The prize was a recording session with Columbia Records. Their win was followed by two key changes. Deciding South 40 was too backwoods a nametag, the band opted for a name change with Crow being chosen for it's dark overtones and the fact it was short. Secondly, original drummer Nehls quit to join Minneapolis' T.C. Atlantic. He was quickly replaced by Mike Malasgar.
Armed with their revised line up and name the group went into Columbia Studios recording a series of five demos, including 'Evil Woman', 'Gonna Leave a Mark' and 'Busy Day'. Unfortunately Columbia management elected not to sign the group. Luckily A&R man/producer Bob Monaco had seen some of the recording sessions and took an active roll in shopping the band around with the small Capital Records affiliated Amaret label ultimately signing the band (over the group's protests that they should go with Atlantic Records which had also expressed interest in the group).
Produced by Bob Monaco and powered by Dave Wagner's growl of a voice, 1969's "Crow Music" debuted the group's bare bones, no-frills attack. A mixture of the five previous recorded demos and five new tracks, the album also introduced former Castaways drummer Denny Caswell to the line up. Caswell was brought in after original drummer Nehls left to join T.C. Atlantic. Crow probably doesn't make many top-10 favorites list, but they did have their moment in the sun - in this case the gloriously heavy 'Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games with Me)'. Even the addition of a sloppy horn arrangement couldn't spoil the track (and to the band's everlasting credit they fought against overdubbing the horns). Nothing else on the set was quite as good, but with three of the five members contributing material, there were plenty of worthwhile efforts including 'Busy Day', 'Gonna Leave A Mark' and the extended blues workout 'Sleepy Woman'. No it won't change your life, but so what. As a debut it's better than 80% of the stuff you'll hear.
Amaret pulled two singles from the album. The debut 45 'Time To Make A Turn' b/w 'Busy Day' (Amaret catalog # 45-106) did nothing:. In contrast 'Evil Woman Don;t You Play Your Games with Me' b/w 'Gonna Leave a Mark' (Amaret catalog number 45-112) provided the band with a top-20 hit. Propelled by the hit single, the parent album also sold well, peaking at # 69.
"Crow Music" track listing: (side
1) 2.) White Eyes (Larry Wiegand - Richard Weigand) - 4:13 3.) Thoughts (Dave Waggoner) - 4:48 4.) Da Da Song (Dave Middlemist) - 3:19 5.) Busy Day (Larry Wiegand) - 2:30
(side
2) 2.) Rollin' (Richard Weigand - Dave Waggoner) - 3:20 3.) Listen To The Bop (Larry Wiegand - Richard Weigand - Dave Waggoner) - 3:07 4.) Gonna Leave A Mark (Larry Wiegand) - 2:53 5.) Sleepy Woman (Larry Wiegand) - 9:53
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Crow By Crow Company: Amaret Catalog: ST5006 Year: 1970 Country/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 3274 Price: $20.00
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If you bought a Crow album, you knew what you were buying. Maybe not the nicest analogy you could come up with, but call them the methamphetamins of the music world - their repertoire was no frills, unvarnished and hard hitting. Nah, this wasn't a designed drug that you were going to share with friends in the bathroom of an upscale, swanky restaurant. This was something for the workingman who needed to stay awake for another ten hour shift, or to unwind after another week on the assembly line. By the same token, if you thought Steppenwolf embodied the concept of a biker band, you were wrong. It was Crow.
Produced by Bob Monaco, 1970's "Crow By Crow" wasn't a major departure from the stripped down, heavy rock sound they'd patented across their earlier "South 40" and "Crow Music" albums. This was a collection of stripped down, barebones, to the point rockers. That meant most Crow fans were going to be happy with molten, blues-tinged rockers like 'Colors', 'Cottage Cheese' and their remake of The Everly Brothers' 'Gone Gone Gone'. As lead singer, Dave Waggoner still had a growl of a voice that you either loved, or hated. Looking for sophisticated, intricate arrangements? Looking for cutting edge production effects? Well, then you were looking in the wrong place. At the same time, Waggoner and company sounded far more comfortable in the studio this time around. Those changes were best exemplified by a couple of atypical performances, including the country-tinged 'Stand To Blame', the unexpectedly sweet harmony vocals on 'Smokey Joe' and Larry Wiegand's quixotic 'Medley'. On a song-for-song basis, I'd say this was the strongest of their studio albums.
"Crow By Crow" track listing: (side
1) 'Stand To Blame' was one of my favorite Crow tunes for the very reason it didn't sound like your typical Crow song. Yeah, you could still tell this was a Crow tune, but incorporating a distinctively lightweight and country-tinged edge (to say nothing of a nod to Jerry Lee Lewis), it made for a nice change-up, showing these guys were more than a one trick pony. 2.) Colors (Larry Wiegand) - 3:35 rating; ***** stars After opening up with some Kink Middlemist church organ moves, 'Colors' abruptly exploded into one of their tightest rockers. I've said it before, but imagine the David Clayton Thomas era Blood, Sweat & Tears having decided to ditch the irritating horns record a true rock and roll tune and you'd get a feel for the song. Released as a single in Spain, I've always wondered why it wasn't released in the States.
- 1970's 'Colors' b/w 'Time To make a Turn (Tiempo Para Cambiar)' (Amaret catalog number 2573-B)
3.) Smokey Joe (Larry Wiegand) - 5:05 rating: *** stars Competent, but ultimately kind of bland and forgettable slice of blues-rock ... The most interesting thing on 'Smokey Joe' was getting to hear the band's surprisingly sweet harmony vocal capabilities and Dick Wiegand's jazzy guitar solo. 4.) Medley (Larry Wiegand) - 8:16 i.) Death Down To Your Soul rating: **** stars Strange comparison, but the bouncy 'Death Down To Your Soul' has always reminded me of Jim Morrison and The Doors doing a Kurt Weill composition. ii.) Get Yourself a Number rating: **** stars Almost radio-friendly and commercial ... what the hell? iii.) Annie Fannie rating: **** stars Blue-eyed soul? Now this is getting stranger and stranger. Thank goodness Dick Wiegand was their to bring us back to earth with a growling solo. iv.) Last Prayer rating: **** stars The pretty ballad 'Last prayer' was interesting as one of the few Crow songs that didn't feature Waggoner on lead vocals ... I'm guessing you were hearing Larry Wiegand. Someone out there will know. Anyhow, the song sported one of their prettiest melodies with a gorgeous solo from Dick Wiegand, and some killer drumming from Denny Crasswell.
(side
2) One of two covers on the album, I'll give them credit for turning in a decent cover of the Larry Williams classic. Their cover certainly won't make you forget the original, but it's better than The Beatles cover. Kudos to Denny Crasswell's drumming. Amaret tapped the song as the leadoff 45, but abruptly shifted it's marketing attention to the song 'Cottage Cheese':
- 1970's 'Slow Down' b/w 'Cottage' (Amaret catalog number 45-119) 2.) Heading North (Larry Wiegand) - 4:50 rating: **** stars Given the band's original name was South 40, the song title 'Heading North' makes me smile. I've always taken Larry Wiegand's lyrics to be a non-too-subtle commentary on a certain armed conflict in Southeast Asia ... Almost funky, the track's worth hearing for Wiegand's awesome bass line. 3.) Cottage Cheese (Richard Weigand - Dave Waggoner - Denny Crasswell) -3:20 rating: *** stars A strange choice for a single (gawd only knows how it hit the top-100 charts), 'Cottage Cheese' was apparently written to spotlight drummer Craswell. Musically the song was little more than a brief jam with each member, including Craswell), given a crack at a short solo. Larry Wiegand's bass line steals the show. The song was apparently still a rough jam when they recorded it. Asked for a title, 'Cottage Cheese' was supposedly the first thing that came into Waggoner's head. Unfortunately it stuck. Be warned the sound and video quality aren't very good, but YouTube has a black and white clip of the band performing the song for some local television program. Check out Waggoner's ill advised decision to stick his head inside Crasswell's bass drum with the expected outcome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnEwJB0DHyQ YouTube also has a clip filmed at their 2009 induction into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1t69z5V0Uc
- 1970's 'Cottage Cheese' b/w 'Busy day' (Amaret catalog number 45-119) 4.) Gone, Gone, Gone (Don Everly - Phil Everly) - 7:33 rating: *** stars Fans of the Everly Brothers original are liable to be appalled by Crow's heavied-up cover. Fans of the Crow cover are liable to be equally appalled by the Everly Brothers original. Where do I stand on the song? Well, the two versions couldn't be more different, but I'd actually go with The Everly Brothers original. It's shorter, punchier, and a pleasure. Crow's version has merits, but turning it into a molten slice of blues-rock served to loose the original's sense of joy. And stretching it to over seven minutes was simply unnecessary.
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Mosaic Company: Amaret Catalog: ST5009 Year: 1970 Country/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: "for D.J. use" stamp on back cover Available: SOLD Catalog ID: 4216 Price: SOLD
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To my ears their third and final studio set, 1970's "Mosaic" wsn't a major departure from their earlier catalog. Again produced by Bob Monaco, exemplified by material such as "Sky Is Crying" and "Keeps Me Runnin'" the album offered up another set of straight-ahead mid-western hard rock. With the exception of Larry Wiengand's atypical jazzy "Easy Street" (quite an interesting change of pace), and the weird, soul-ish "I Need Love", it' wasn't particularly subtle or sophisticated, but then that wasn't what Crow fans were looking for. Sure, the album may have been somewhat limited in terms of scope, but Wagner had a great set of pipes (particularly when he wasn't trying to sound like David Clayton-Thomas) and the band were quite good at what they did.
Two singles were pulled from the LP:
- 1970's '(Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On the) King of Rock and Roll' b/w 'Satisfied' (Amaret catalog number 45-125) # 52 pop - 1970's 'Yellow Dawg' b/w 'Watching Can Waste Up Time' (Amaret catalog number 45-129)
Even though the band had begun to record material for a fourth album, by the end of 1971 the combination of growing unhappiness with their label and sheer exhaustion effectively spelled the end of the group. Wagner was the first to give notice, but faced with a significant financial debt, the remaining members decided to soldier on, quickly replacing him with former White Lightening drummer/singer Mick Stanhope. The revamped band struggled on for roughly a year before finally calling it quits in 1972.
(side
1) (Jeff Thomas) - 2:30 2.) Easy Street (Larry Wiegand) - 5:03 3.) Yellow Dawg (Larry Wiegand) - 3:01 4.) Sky Is Crying (James - Robinson - Lewis) - 5:57 5.) I Need Love (Larry Wiegand - Dick Wiedgand - Dave Middlemist) - 4:22
(side
2) 2.) Watching Can Waste Up Time (Larry Wiegand - Dick Wiedgand) - 3:58 3.) Satisfied (Larry Wiedgand - Dave Middlemist) - 5:13 4.) Watch That Cat (R. Wiegand - Dave Waggoner) - 5:30 5.) Let's Not Say Goodbye (Dave Middlemist - Dave Waggoner) - 5:10
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Genre: pop Rating: 4 stars **** Title: The Best of Crow Company: Amaret Catalog: AST
5012 Country/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+ Comments: minor wear to vinyl; plays fine Available: 1 Catalog ID: 284 Price: $10.00
Best time to play: Saturday night party album !!!
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An eleven track compilation, 1972's "The Best of Crow" pulled together five out of the band's seven 1969-71 era singles. Missing in action were 1970's 'Slow Down' and 'Watching Can Waste Up Time'. Given the band's limited catalog (they'd only recorded three studio sets up to that point), a "best of" collection struck me as a bit premature, but with lead singer David Wagner having quit the previous year, I'm guessing Amaret wanted to capitalize on the band's audience while they still had a chance. And here's the really funny thing about this album - since the labelt got to "cherry pick" from the first three albums, on a song-for-song basis the results were surprisingly impressive. Yeah, Wagner's voice was an acquire taste (he frequently reminded me of a rock-oriented David Clayton-Thomas), and there wasn't a great deal of originality in these grooves, but looking back I find nine of the tracks score high with my ears (and that includes a couple with horn arrangements).
left to right: Kink Middlemist - Dick Wiegand - Denny Crasswell- Dave Wagner - Larry Wiegand
"The Best
of Crow" track listing: 1.) Evil Woman (Larry Wiegand - Richard Wiegand - David Waggoner) - 3:10 rating: **** stars Off their debut LP "Crow Music", 'Evil Woman' was their biggest and best hit (really their only hit). Driven by Larry Wiegand's pounding bass and some very daring lyrics (remember this was 1969), the song probably deserved to be a bigger hit than it was. Interestingly, the horns were added without the band's knowledge, or approval, giving the tune a Blood, Sweat & Tears-edge. 2.) Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On the (King of Rock and Roll) (Jeff Thomas) - 2:00 rating: ** stars Their fifth single, 'Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On the (King of Rock and Roll)' was as horrendous as the title. A mindless slice of anonymous bar band moves, the song found lead singer Wagner trotting out his bluesiest voice to little effect. 3.) Colors (Larry Wiegand) - 3:36 rating: **** stars Off of their second album, 1970's "Crow By Crow", 'Colors' opening with some Kink Middlemist church organ before unexpectedly exploding into one of the band's better rockers. Dick Wiegand acquitted himself with honors on the track and even Wagner's David Clayton-Thomas wannabe vocals were enjoyable on this one. 4.) Gonna Leave a Mark (Larry Wiegand) - 2:53 rating: *** stars 'Gonna Leave a Mark' was another track off the debut LP. Driven by a crunching Dick Wiegand guitar riff, the song was actually pretty good and would have been even better had producer Bob Monaco restrained himself and dropped the needless horns which gave the song a dreaded BS&T feel. 5.) I Stand To Blame (Richard Wiegand - David Waggoner) - 2:38 rating: **** stars Showcasing one of their better melodies and some of Dick Wiegand's best playing, 'I Stand To Blame" was a likeable country-rocker with a nifty nod to Elvis Presley. The song was also interesting for showcasing the band's seldom displayed harmony vocal skills and for Wagner's breezy delivery. Shame he did sing like this more often. 6.) Time To Make a Turn (Larry Wiegand) - 2:47 rating: **** stars The band's debut single, 'Time To Make a Turn' has always reminded me of a Gary Puckett and the Union Gap song. Complete with punch horns, this one sounded like it had been penned for maximum radio play - hard to understand why it vanished without a trace. Elsewhere, Dick Wiegand turned in a tasty lead guitar solo.
(side
2) A strange choice for a single (gawd only knows how it hit the top-100 charts), 'Cottage Cheese' was apparently written to spotlight drummer Dennis Craswell. Musically the song was little more than a brief jam session with each member, including Craswell), given a crack at a short solo. The song title was basically a place holder, but the band never came up with a better title. 2.) Busy Day (Larry Wiegand) - 3:03 rating: **** stars Penned by bassist Larry Weigand, 'Busy Day' was built on a great rock riff (if I ever wanted to write a song, I'd steal it in a heartbeat). The only downside to this one was producer Monaco's needless studio effects. 3.) Satisfied (R Middlemist - Larry Wiegand) - 5:03 rating: **** stars Lifted from the band's third studio set (1971's "Mosaic"), 'Satisfied' was a bit different from the bulk of the group's standard bar band repertoire. Opening up with some attractive orchestration, including Craswell pounding away on kettle drums, the track didn't drift all that far from hardrock, but sounded considerably more self-assured than much of their earlier work. 4.) Keeps Me Runnin' (Larry Wiegand) - 3:00 rating: **** stars Larry seemed to be the band's most commercial writer and that knack was aptly displayed on 'Keeps Me Runnin''. Nice pop-rock tune that again showcased the band's overlooked harmony vocals. 5.) Yellow Dawg (Larry Wiegand) - 3:01 rating: **** stars Three things save 'Yellow Dawg' from oblivion: 1.) Dick Wiegand's fuzz guitar (he also turned in a blazing solo), 2.) the title track chorus, and 3.) Middlemist's jumpy keyboard pattern which Dick and Larry follow a couple of times throughout the song.
Damn, I guess I'm gonna have to go back and re-exam the studio albums.
Under the Crow banner the Weigand brothers and Middlemist are still active in the Minneapolis area and have a web presence at: www.thecrowband.com
03/2013 SRB
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